| Revision as of 23:56, 5 February 2008 editUser1688 (talk | contribs)14 edits →Presidential election← Previous edit | Revision as of 05:33, 6 February 2008 edit undoShihRyanJ (talk | contribs)43 edits →Presidential electionNext edit → | ||
| Line 58: | Line 58: | ||
| Following the DPP's poor performance in the ], Hsieh replaced Chen Shui-bian as chairman of the DPP. | Following the DPP's poor performance in the ], Hsieh replaced Chen Shui-bian as chairman of the DPP. | ||
| In January 2008, he accused candidate ] of having a |
In January 2008, he accused candidate ] of having a United States ]. Initially, Ma responded by saying that no one in his family has a ], but later recanted to state that he had a green as a student, that his wife also had a ], and that one of his daughters is a native-born US citizen. Ma, however, believes that his green card had expired when he applied for a non-immigrant visa, which is actually incorrect under Title X of the United States Code. Many in Taiwan have pointed to this as evidence that Ma was never a real student of law but instead spent his days in the US spying on other Taiwanese students. Ma also produced an unverified page of a passport which showed that he had not gone to the United States for over 1-year between 1992 and 1994, which he further claims validates his claim that his ] expired. However, Ma has failed to produced his complete passport and instead is relying on a photocopy of a passport - not necessarily his - to justify his claims. The issue is currently in dispute and has led to a general decline in Ma's opinion polls with respect to his integrity and his handling of a crisis situation. In fact, many in Taiwan have joked that the reason Ma doesn't have a ] is because he has already surrended it when he received his US naturalization certificate when he became a US citizen. | ||
| People in Taiwan joke that Hsieh's talk is cheap and way beyond United States' goverment statement and doubt his constant cheating statements for the past 10 years whenever during election times will hurt his current 2008 president election. | |||
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
Revision as of 05:33, 6 February 2008
| Frank Hsieh 謝長廷 LLD | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Premier of the Republic of China | |
| In office 01 February 2005 – 25 January 2006 | |
| President | Chen Shui-bian |
| Preceded by | Yu Shyi-kun |
| Succeeded by | Su Tseng-chang |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 22 March 2008 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1946-05-18) 18 May 1946 (age 78)] Dadaocheng, Datong, Taipei, Taiwan |
| Political party | Democratic Progressive Party |
| Spouse | Yu Fang-chih |
| Alma mater | National Taiwan University Kyoto University |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Frank Chang-ting Hsieh (Chinese: 謝長廷; pinyin: Xiè Chángtíng; Wade-Giles: Hsieh Ch'ang T'ing; Pe̍h-oē-jī: Siā Tiông-têng or Chiā Tiông-têng) (born May 18, 1946 in Dadaocheng, Datong District, Taipei) is a Taiwanese politician of the Democratic Progressive Party. He was the mayor of Kaohsiung City until his appointment as Premier of the Republic of China by president Chen Shui-bian on February 1, 2005. He announced his resignation from the post of premier on January 17, 2006. Hsieh is the DPP nominee in the 2008 presidential election.
Personal background
Hsieh is married to Yu Fang-chih (游芳枝); together, they have a son (adapted) and a daughter. He and his wife believe in Sung Chi-li (宋七力), which was once a notorius religion in Taiwan, having over ten thousand followers at its height.
Rise in politics
Hsieh received his Bachelor of Laws degree from National Taiwan University and studied for and completed a Doctor of Laws degree from Kyoto University. He was a practicing attorney from 1969 to 1981, serving as a defense attorney in the martial courts following the Kaohsiung Incident of 1980.
Hsieh was one of the founding members of the Democratic Progressive Party, was the one who proposed its current name, and served as its chairman from June 2000 to 2002. A two-time Taipei City councilor from 1981 to 1988, and a member of the Legislative Yuan from 1989 to 1995, Hsieh ran in the 1996 presidential as a vice-presidential candidate with Peng Ming-min on the DPP ticket. They finished second with 21.1% of the vote. In a dramatic comeback to the surprise of many observers, Hsieh defeated the Kuomintang incumbent and won the Kaohsiung City mayoral election in 1998. He was re-elected again for a four-year term in 2002.
Kaohsiung mayoralty
In 1998, Hsieh was elected the mayor of Kaohsiung City with cheating his opponent by a false audio tape. His administration focused on improving water qualities in surrounding rivers (the most notorious of which included the Love River) as well as a general overhaul of the port of Kaohsiung.
According to one poll, the "Satisfaction of the mayoral/magistral administration," and the "Satisfaction of development improvement" of Kaohsiung City are ranked bottom out of all the counties and cities in Taiwan. Also, more and more people are leaving Kaohsiung because of the high unemployment rate (number 1 in Taiwan). Kaohsiung was widely considered to be a fake image and decending city by the people in Taiwan.
Premiership and aftermath
Hsieh was forced to resign as premier in the aftermath of the 2005 "Three-in-One" elections in which the KMT defeated the DPP in a landslide.
As the DPP's candidate for the 2006 Taipei Mayoral election, Hsieh lost the race to KMT candidate Hau Lung-pin by a big margin of 166,216 votes (20%). However, Hsieh's electoral performance was exceeded expectations considering the very low approval ratings of the President and the DPP as a whole, as well as Taipei City's strongly pro-KMT electorate.
In February 2007, he led the Taiwanese delegation to the 55th annual United States National Prayer Breakfast in Washington DC, hosted by US Congressional Committee with dignitaries including President George W. Bush.
Presidential election
Hsieh was frequently considered to be a leading contender for the DPP nomination in the 2008 presidential election, and formally announced his intention to run in the election on February 16. Hsieh was the second to formally announce candidacy after former-KMT chairman Ma Ying-Jeou, and the first from the Democratic Progressive Party. He has won 45% of the DPP primary votes and won the nomination, after the pending straw poll to be conducted May 9-11 was cancelled after his three primary opponents all conceded defeat. In July 2007, Frank Hsieh went on a trip to the United States called the trip of "Love and Trust" (「愛與信任」之旅). In September 2007, Hsieh openly declared that he was running for the presidency of the State of Taiwan (台灣國), saying that "recogniz ourselves (the Taiwanese people) as a nation first and then fight for what we want during negotiations with other countries" is important.
Hsieh has been granted many Taiwanese aboriginal names by many tribe leaders during his visits to the tribes, such as Tin Kei in Amis, V'oyu in Tsou, Hayung in Atayal, and Shaman Manida in Tao.
Regarding Ma Ying-jeou's idea of a "cross-strait common market," Hsieh states that if Taiwan only focuses on the economy, it will end up being like Hong Kong and Macau, whose only goal in life is to make money. He thinks that improving the economy is as important as national dignity. He also thinks that the goal of economic development is the happiness of people and not just making money.
Following the DPP's poor performance in the 2008 Legislative election, Hsieh replaced Chen Shui-bian as chairman of the DPP.
In January 2008, he accused candidate Ma Ying-Jeou of having a United States green card. Initially, Ma responded by saying that no one in his family has a green card, but later recanted to state that he had a green as a student, that his wife also had a green card, and that one of his daughters is a native-born US citizen. Ma, however, believes that his green card had expired when he applied for a non-immigrant visa, which is actually incorrect under Title X of the United States Code. Many in Taiwan have pointed to this as evidence that Ma was never a real student of law but instead spent his days in the US spying on other Taiwanese students. Ma also produced an unverified page of a passport which showed that he had not gone to the United States for over 1-year between 1992 and 1994, which he further claims validates his claim that his green card expired. However, Ma has failed to produced his complete passport and instead is relying on a photocopy of a passport - not necessarily his - to justify his claims. The issue is currently in dispute and has led to a general decline in Ma's opinion polls with respect to his integrity and his handling of a crisis situation. In fact, many in Taiwan have joked that the reason Ma doesn't have a green card is because he has already surrended it when he received his US naturalization certificate when he became a US citizen.
See also
External links
Notes
- "Former Premier Chang-ting Hsieh...Will Attend the 55th Annual National Prayer Breakfast of the United States...", Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of China (TAIWAN) , 2007/1/29
- "Frank Hsieh wins DPP primaries", China Post, 2007/5/7
- "Hsieh confirmed as DPP candidate", China Post, 2007/5/8
- Liou De-tsang, "謝長廷啟程赴美訪問 定位為愛與信任之旅", The Central News Agency, 2007/07/20
- Mo Yan-chih Ma attacks Hsieh over 'Republic of Taiwan', Taipei Times, 9/6/2007
- 謝長廷衝票房 上山下海玩變裝
- Ko Shu-ling "Hsieh clarifies stance on investment from China", Taipei Times, 10/19/2007
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byWu Duen-yi | Mayor of Kaohsiung 1998 – 2005 |
Succeeded byChen Chi-mai (acting) |
| Preceded byYu Shyi-kun | Premier of the Republic of China 2005 – 2006 |
Succeeded bySu Tseng-chang |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded byLin Yi-hsiung | Chairperson of the DPP 2000 – 2002 |
Succeeded byChen Shui-bian |
| Preceded byChen Shui-bian | Chairperson of the DPP 2008 – |
Succeeded byIncumbent |